1. You're not ugly.
2. I can't believe you caved so quickly with the pic. I had expected you to hold out longer! Dammit. You must make them suffer!
3. Ex, maybe you could do Photoshop wonders with BCo's bidness. Look at what you did for RAT and his hair!!

2. I can't believe you caved so quickly with the pic. I had expected you to hold out longer! Dammit. You must make them suffer!

HA! In your face!

That was quite nice. SOTB really came through on this one.

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"I have often thought how much happier I should have been if instead of accepting the command, under such circumstances, I had taken my musket on my shoulder, and entered the ranks ; or, had retired to the backcountry and lived in a wigwam." George Washington

1. You're not ugly.
2. I can't believe you caved so quickly with the pic. I had expected you to hold out longer! Dammit. You must make them suffer!
3. Ex, maybe you could do Photoshop wonders with BCo's bidness. Look at what you did for RAT and his hair!!

Naw, I think you guys make each other suffer enough by yourselves. I don't even know BCo and already I can't stop laughing at..I mean WITH him! :D

Whoa, 50 replies and I'm barely talking. I do actually have some questions, but I hate to interrupt the bagging. I take it this means I've been cleared?

Well I hate to have to do this, sorry to rain on your parade but despite how funny this all is, I originally started this thread because I had some questions. They are probably sensitive questions to the SF community and I might get jumped all over for asking them, so I want to make dead certain I'm cleared to fire. You guys all seem really cool though, so I don't think I have anything to worry about.

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"I have often thought how much happier I should have been if instead of accepting the command, under such circumstances, I had taken my musket on my shoulder, and entered the ranks ; or, had retired to the backcountry and lived in a wigwam." George Washington

A call to arms has been issued. Its been issued since I saw the towers fall live. Its only gotten louder since the army can’t meet its quotas and doesn’t have enough troops to keep the peace. What’s worse is that I have 3 friends in Iraq right now, and one of them emailed me a few months ago and told me about how his gunner was KIA. All I know about the gunner is his last name, and I guess I’ll honor it by keeping it confidential, but my best friend was inches away from the bullet that killed him, and I’m here sitting on my hands safe watching private x’s funeral on TV and seeing pictures of coffins and presidential briefings and political agendas and American and Israeli flags in flames. Another thing is that half the people dancing in the streets when the towers fell were of my heritage. There are terror sects in Kosovo, and I’m finding it hard to stomach the fact that the F-ing SOB who killed my friend’s gunner could have been an Albanian.

The only thing keeping me from signing the dotted line is a promise I made to my friend. “Don’t do anything stupid. Live your life until I get back,” which will be in about a month. The deal was that I would stay and study and he would come back with his shield instead of on it. I recently called my family together and told them I was joining the army. I expected their support, and above all I expected them to be proud of me. Instead, my family turned their backs on me, they would not give me their blessing. They said I would not be their hero. My dad cried and said that he could not support me, he is convinced that there are things about this war that are not being told, whatever it is is a lie, and he cannot bring himself to be involved. If I go to Iraq, I go alone.

What am I hoping to find in the desert? A battle? Some glorious Hollywood-enacted paintball game with live ammo? Am I hoping to have fun? I don’t know, I don’t think so. I know I’m looking for a fight, I feel like I’ve been looking for one my whole life, and I feel like I’ve found one. I know if I answer this call, its going to change me, but I feel this. I feel like its something I have to do. I feel like I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t, and I’m angry that I’ve waited this long. I can’t really piece words together enough to explain what I’m feeling or even if it’s rational, and I could probably piece them together all day to no avail. I guess some people want to go to the Olympics, and I want to be a soldier. Maybe some of you understand.

I want to ask how close I can get to the Green Beret, since I can’t think of anything harder and more inside the war, but that’s a question I know I’m not allowed to ask and will be run off the board for asking.

Why do I want to serve? To fight the war. What does this war mean to me? Everything and nothing. It means everything because I can fight in it, there aren’t any lines. It means nothing because I might have no business in it. Who am I to jump into a raging river? Here I have a college education in front of me where I can study film, make documentaries about amazing things, have a career in assembling teams of insane adventures to head out into the natural worlds most dangerous places and maybe get myself killed, or…join the army, do amazing things, be part of a team of brave volunteers who go out into the worlds most dangerous places, and maybe get myself killed. Do I even have any idea what I’m asking for? I sure hope so. I’ve done a lot of homework and researched everything from MP to Combat Engineer to Airborne to EOD, and I can’t even go to the Army’s website because I just can’t take having the Ranger School link waved in front of me on the AIT page and knowing that clicking it is only going to get me upset. I can’t watch the military channel because it reminds me of everything I can’t have, and I’m afraid to “just go for it” because if I get in and don’t like the job I pick, I’m stuck.

I want to fight the war, and if I’m going to get run off the board for saying outright that I want to be the best I can be, do the best I can, go through the hardest thing the world has to offer, that I want to be a Green Beret, then so be it.

I really don't like the coined poster-phrase “women in combat” because it implies that I’m stuck in a civil-rights movement/class-action suit whether I like it or not. Why do we have to assign gender to anything though? Why can’t it just be weakness and strength? Why can’t it just be soldiers in combat? Why can’t I be a soldier? You know what, even if I can’t, where its taken me has been pretty fun. I’ve picked up proficiency in a ton of sports I never thought I’d get into (wrestling wasn’t exactly on my to-do list in middle school), learned how to fight and how to perform under the most stressful of situations, went from benching the bar to showing off with one-arm pushups (not that that's going to take me anywhere but it was still kinda fun), been through hard times where I just wanted to cry, and have been driven to seek out the toughest things I could find. Maybe I’ve just been chasing a stupid dream, but it’s been crazy and if I died tomorrow, I can say that I had fun, and maybe that’s all that matters.

Why did I come to this board? Maybe I’m looking for more than advice, maybe I’m looking for a believer. Maybe I’m trying to opt out of the “gender bylaws” and different PT tests and double standards, things I’ve tried to break free of my entire life. I think I’m looking for someone to say “we’re not talking about you when we talk about women in combat” (I hate that phrase), and I can’t think of anything else I can possibly do to prove myself, anything else I can do to break away because all someone has to do is say it and I’ll do it, but I know that’s not going to happen. I want to be a Green Beret so that I can fight the war, so I’m still going to fight the war, whether or not I get to make as great of a difference as I had hoped. I’m still going to do the best I can. I think I’m strong, I think I’m tough, I think I have something to offer. I think I can be a soldier. I’m going to go help my friends who are over there. I’m going to scratch this unbearable itch and answer the call. Recently I’ve been doing the whole teenage looking-for-a-role-model phase, maybe I’m looking for a hero, maybe I’m looking to find one in myself, maybe I’m just an idiot.

I expect many short replies about “currently there are no females allowed in the following…” I know…

I know.

My question for all of you, if you decide to answer, how can I fight this war?

You remind me of me when I was 15 and 16. About the only thing I can say is there's a whole lot of "I" and "me" in that. Realize it's not so much about you and what you can get out of the Army...more importantly, what do you do for the Army? It's a hypothetical that doesn't need a specific answer; it's the mindset. You're not going to get the job you want, so forget about it. Period. Once you move past that, focus on what you bring to the table (really good at languages? Computers? Do well with biology?) and how that can help support the warfighter. That's right, SUPPORT.

Best of luck.

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The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. --Proverbs 28:1

I think I have somewhat of an idea of the lack of support, nothing on your level though. I'm from San Francisco and my father actually supports what I'm doing (and will be doing in about a year). Most of my friends and their parents told me I was gonna waste my time and go die far away for no reason. Do what you want, for what you belive in. Think about what you want, really think about it. Discuss it with people, research it (as you have been) and really come to a decision you are happy with.

Good luck with your parents, I know it was/is tough getting along with my Mom about it.

P.S. What school in cali?

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Somewhere along the way, gut-check becomes the principle by which you organize your life and stalwart becomes the prism through which you see the world. - Eric Neel

A lot of hoorah stuff will likely be posted. If that's what you want to do then do it.

Cooks are fighting the war, admin clerks are fighting the war, finance guys are. Fighting the war isn't just shooting bad guys.

People here at home are fighting the war: they're giving blood, they're donating to food kitchens, they're arranging events for wives left behind, and soldiers who come home injured. They're sending care packages, they're writing letters. They're soliciting donations for the USO, and etc and so on.

You know you're not going to get SF or Ranger or Infantry, so let's move past that. Let me address a couple key points:

1. It's your life, live it.
2. For 90% of people, no single event defines who they are. For that 10%, 9% of them probably wish it didn't.
3. While you can't be a dedicated door kicker, you'll have ample opportunity to live dangerously regardless of MOS.
4. The military is the quintessential "you get out of it what you put into it" job. If you want to be a shitbag, you'll probably hate it. If you want to give 110% and then some, you'll probably enjoy the hell out of it and have some doors opened to you.

My advice: Sign up as a 98G Arabic. You should get plenty of desert time. Do your job well, keep up with your language and your PT, and interesting folks will come looking for you.

__________________
"I have often thought how much happier I should have been if instead of accepting the command, under such circumstances, I had taken my musket on my shoulder, and entered the ranks ; or, had retired to the backcountry and lived in a wigwam." George Washington

First thing: A green beret is a hat. No one in Special Forces calls themselves, or anyone else, a hat.

Second thing: do not worry about your family. As was already advised, just live your own life. Your family will come online.

Third thing: yes, chicks are not permitted in certain specialties.

Big deal. There are a lot of soldiers and Marines with female genitalia in the sandbox right now who have trigger time. Some of them are even women.

I think that you need to think farther ahead. Ask yourself where you want to be 50 years from now, then 25 years from now, then 10 years, then five years, then three years, then next year, then next month, next week, and finally, tomorrow.

This will help you put things in perspective, and it will help you discern the outlines of a life path.

Do not forget that you are young, and that you will change your mind. This is permitted. After all, we are talking about your life. You can live it as you choose. But thinking ahead like this can be an interesting exercise.

One other thing to keep in mind.

I have not been young for a long time now. When I was young, I had no clue about what I wanted to be when I "grew up."

Now that I am ostensibly "grown up," I still have no idea what I want to be. One thing that happened, though, is that all of the "things" that I became do not define me as a person. I am not my job, nor any of my former jobs. I am just myself. It was hard for me to learn this.

I think that it makes more sense to focus on being a good person, than it does to focus on labels, or job descriptions.

It is good to have a plan, yes, and it is good to craft a plan that is flexible, and that enables you to achieve broad goals that are useful in multiple career fields. But one thing is constant: if you are an asshole, you will not succeed in any of them, you will not be happy, and your life will suck on multiple levels.

And the reality is, you can die any day, and many of us do. People slip in the shower. People get nailed at crosswalks. People eat bad shellfish. People fall down stairs. You get the idea.

To bring things full circle, here is a bottom line: You cannot serve in Special Forces.

There are many other ways to serve.

Living well is really its own justification. Do that, and everything else will fall into place.

You remind me of me when I was 15 and 16. About the only thing I can say is there's a whole lot of "I" and "me" in that. Realize it's not so much about you and what you can get out of the Army...more importantly, what do you do for the Army? It's a hypothetical that doesn't need a specific answer; it's the mindset. You're not going to get the job you want, so forget about it. Period. Once you move past that, focus on what you bring to the table (really good at languages? Computers? Do well with biology?) and how that can help support the warfighter. That's right, SUPPORT.

I can't. I'm sorry. I need to be the warfighter.

I tried to sign up before. A few months ago I walked into a recruiters office ready to sign an 89D or an 31A contract. I thought I had gotten past the whole dedicated door-kicker thing and I thought I could handle serving my country in a Support role. I was sitting in a chair waiting for a recruiter to open up when I saw one really scrawny incredibly pathetic looking dude with glasses sitting at one of the chairs and talking with a recruiter about an 11x with a ranger option. And he got it too!!!! I couldn’t believe he was even eligible for the army, he couldn’t have been older than 17 and weigh more than 120lbs! and he wasn’t a ripped 120, he was one of those tall lanky types. I try not to judge people by the outside, but you could tell he wasn't an athlete! I could have broken him over my knee and all he had to do was ask for an RIP and he got it. I just couldn’t take it, I got up and walked out. Maybe that was selfish of me.

Guys, I want to serve my country, I want to serve really bad but I can’t do it from behind a desk. Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I just can’t take the whole sitting down fighting the war scene. Myself being very right brained and full of anger need to be moving around. It makes me restless just thinking about it and I’m even taking breaks from writing this post to get up and walk around. If my country really needed desk workers, I could probably suck it up and be a desk worker and what would keep me sane is that I’d know that I answered a call for desk workers, but the call was for door-kickers and that’s the one I want to answer.

I wish I could say that I had all my stuff together. I’m not a prep-school grad, I got kicked out of catholic school, my LAUSD gpa was a 3.00, my room is a mess, I pace when I’m restless, and I’m just about as unorganized as most 18 y/o’s that walk through the recruiters doors. I was one of the students who didn’t do as well as they could have in education because they were bored with school, and that’s my bad. I’m intelligent but too fiery, I have a lot of informed political opinions but state them at the wrong times, I push people into corners too much, I’m impatient and I’m not nice. I tried taking a desk job once but only lasted a day (at least I made it through the entire day) and am much happier painting houses with my dad. I’m not the “perfect recruit.” I’m hoping the military can make me one.

And maybe I am making this sound too much about “me.” Maybe I’m too egocentric. I don’t know. To sum it up, I’ll do anything to avoid a desk. I think I have a lot to offer my country, but if out of all the things they can ask of me, if they ask me to sit at a desk, my reply would be a heavy sight and “do I have to?” I'll serve my country any way they want me to, but it'll hurt me. I’m sorry I just have a real issue with the desk thing. Is there anything else I can do?...rephrase, is there anything else I’m allowed to do?

I’ve come across the thread posted above before and have skimmed it but haven’t read the entire 10 pages until now. Its mostly about Intel Positions. Not that I wouldn’t qualify for an intel job, I speak Albanianglish but could probably get fluent without much difficulty, and I think that eventually a lot of doors would open up and I’d get some excitement, but it just bothers me that I’d have to go the whole intel route, do a lot of sitting on my hands and watching the war on tv, and wait patiently for something to come along that might never come, when someone else just has to ask for something in their contract and get it instantly. I’m bothered guys, I’m bothered. I feel like a pitbull behind a fence. Its killing me!

Maybe the army is not for me, and maybe I’m not what they’re looking for, but at least I’m willing to be honest about my shortcomings and try to fix them for the sake of serving my country. When I say I want to fight the war, I know a lot of thankless work is being done by people not directly involved, and thank god for them, but what I mean is I want to get my hands dirty and I want to see combat.

I first looked into EOD since it was supposedly the second toughest school in the military and I’m very dexterous with my hands, but I don’t know if they have a combat mission. MP’s are seeing tons of action, but how challenging is MP? Women can be aerial gunners and fighter pilots, but not in the 160th (damn), but its still really high on my possible MOS list. I want a challenge. My friend said to me once almost as a joke that I should be a SERE specialist because I’d make a hell of an interrogator and I’d love the outdoor’s/physical part of it. If I didn’t want to fight the war so bad, I might have signed up for that a long time ago. Maybe I’m getting too held up on getting my hands dirty and seeing combat, I just want to get as close as possible. I can’t serve my country in a job I hate as well as I can in a job I love. I’m willing to go against my family and everyone who knows me. Irrational, immature, egocentric, maybe.

In 20 years I want to look back on my life and say I had a hell of a ride. In 10 years I either want to still be in the army having a hell of a ride or out making documentaries or writing for National Geographic or traveling or something challenging. In 5 years I want to either still be in the army or out of school starting my carreer. Tommorrow?-- I want to fight the war.

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"Excellence is an art won by training and habitation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do.